This invention relates to apparatus for simultaneously connecting each of a plurality of wires to the individual terminals contained in an electrical connector or the like. The herein disclosed embodiment of the invention comprises a manually assisted cable making machine which attaches the wires in a cable to the terminals in a connector, however, the principles of the invention can be used in other types of apparatus such as fully automatic cable making machines.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,335 discloses and claims a multi-contact electrical connector having contact terminals therein, each contact terminal having a wire-receiving portion which receives and establishes electrical contact with a wire upon movement of the wire laterally of its axis and into the wire-receiving portion of the terminal. This patent also discloses one class of apparatus for simultaneously inserting each of a plurality of wires into the terminals in the connector. The type of electrical connection between the wire and the terminal is commonly referred to as a "displation" type connection for the reason that the insulation of the wire is displaced during movement of the wire into the terminal to permit and establish the electrical connection between the wire and the terminal.
The connector shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,335 has received widespread acceptance in the industry and its success has inspired the development of other multicontact connectors having displation type terminals therein as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat Nos. 4,043,034 and 4,043,017 and in application Ser. No. 794,429 filed May 6, 1977. A particularly attractive feature of connectors having these displation type contact terminals therein is that a plurality of wires can be connected simultaneously to the terminals in the connector and the time required to produce a wired connector is, therefore, greatly reduced. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,043,034 and 4,043,017 disclose cable making machines which have the capability of producing electrical cables having connectors at their ends, each cable containing a plurality of individual wires. Such cable making machines are being used to an increasing extent in the electrical industry and find high favor by virtue of the speed with which they can produce cables and harness sub-assemblies.
The instant invention is directed to the achievement of a cable making apparatus which expands the range of usefulness of displation type connectors and which permits the use of such connectors under circumstances where their use was heretofore somewhat impractical. Particularly, the invention is directed to the achievement of a relatively compact manually assisted apparatus for attaching connectors to each end of a previously cut cable. The apparatus comprises an insertion zone having means therein for locating one or more multi-contact electrical connectors and insertion punches which insert wires presented to the insertion zone into the terminals into the connector. The wires are presented to the insertion zone by means of a slide member which is movable between a loading station and an insertion station during each operating cycle of the apparatus. The operator need only load a cable on the slide and actuate the apparatus by closing a switch and the other functions of the apparatus are fully automatic. Certain features of the apparatus described in detail below permit operation at a relatively high rate by an operator who need not necessarily be highly trained.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved apparatus for inserting wires into the terminals on a connector. A further object is to provide an apparatus having an insertion zone and having means for carrying connectors and wires to the insertion zone during each operating cycle in preparation for insertion of the wires into the terminals of the connector. A further object is to provide a relatively compact manually assisted apparatus which can be used for a wide variety of cable manufacturing and harness manufacturing operations.